The beautiful story of scampi
We are often asked ‘who invented scampi’ and the truth is us Brits have been enjoying a version of this dish since the 1700s. The first time a scampi recipe was written down was by Hannah Glasse, England’s first ever renowned domestic Goddess, the Georgian version of Nigella Lawson.
Hannah Glasse has been widely praised by modern day cookery icons, the English celebrity chef Clarissa Dickson Wright hailed her as "the mother of the modern dinner party" and her recipe from 1747 sounds a lot like our scampi.
The move from calling these ‘shrimps’ to the now famous ‘scampi’ came from Italy. Scampi is a plural of the word ‘Scampo’ and Italians dish ‘Scampi Fritti’ was the inspiration behind the name.
This British dish with an Italian name became the nation’s favourite in the Post war boom, which saw more Brits eating out and British restaurants were quick to embrace Scampi. This was helped along in 1955 by The Berni Inn, established by brothers Frank and Aldo Berni, popularising the dish and keeping it on menus for a nation that loved it!
In 1985 Whitby Seafoods was born! Our founder Graham Whittle started Whitby Seafoods with the mission to make the very best quality scampi from British, wild-caught langoustine with a natural crumb. He set up within sight of the famous Whitby Abbey, in a town famous for its fishing heritage!
Whitby Seafoods is a proper family business with his children Daniel, Edward and Laura Whittle working in the business today.
Did you know that Whitby Scampi is enjoyed by around one million British people every week! If that’s not a sign of a reet good dish, we don’t know what is and Whitby Seafoods makes more scampi than any other company in the world.
Staying true to our origins, you can always find us around Whitby! Our scampi is a gastro pub and fish and chip shop favourite used by more caterers than any other brand, just look out for our Whitby swingboards for a sign of a tasty treat and our Whitby Scampi range is stocked in all great retailers.
